Hearts and Minds
by nightbird47
Summary: This is an AU written before season 2 or its teasers. A young major and his men are taxed with restoring "peace" again between the towns. Until another time and another incident.


Author: nightbird47

rating: PG

This story is about the aftermath of the ASA army stopping the New Bern war. It was written before the second season, and all the tantalizing tidbits that were dangled about it. But it's inspired by the way the real world works. Hearts and Minds always matter, especially when you lose them.

I ask, BEG? For reviews. Yeah, I know there are several stories I keep meaning to comment on but don't follow my example. Maybe you'll inspire me to comment instead of just reading these stories over again for the fourth time.

Disclaimer. Jericho is owned by Junction Entertainment. I borrowed the characters but took them to my world. And while it may not be a legality, Jericho also belongs to the Rangers without which there never would have BEEN a second season or a comic book series. My only earnings from this story are some intense hours of writing and editing and some nice egoboo when people get it and like it.

So onto the story...

Hearts and Minds,

and why to win them

The road was pitted with the remains of pavement shattered by the impact of mortars. Here and there it was impassable. Eventually it would be fixed, but some of the buildings were beyond repair. He stepped carefully around a shattered pile of glass, and wished someone else had been left behind this time.

Across the street the building was nearly intact, only a small bit of damage to the walls. He stared at it wondering why he was bothering.

Somehow, after the main force had moved on, he and his men were to keep peace between two towns who hated each other. His unit had arrived in time to stop the shelling, but not before a good deal of damage. Every day these people walked the street would be a reminder of what had been done that day. Every day they would remember why they wanted revenge.

But today it was his job to keep it from coming to that.

He pushed the button on the radio they'd left in the farmhouse when the first battle of their war had been ended. The locals inside had taken its twin with their prisoner.

"Who am I talking to?" he asked.

"What do you want?" The voice was calm and didn't sound local. He didn't appear to be a hothead but that didn't mean anything.

"Turn your prisoner over. We will deal with him."

He wasn't sure how that would work, though for all the trouble the sherif/mayor of New Bern was, it was hardly worth more of a mess than they already had. The way the intel people had acted, especially the searches and detentions, he was lucky the locals across the street didn't just shoot he and his men and go along with their business.

Nervously, he stepped back a little, but the ground was too uneven.

"That's not up to me." Still smooth and controlled, but equally uncompromising.

This was getting him nowhere. "I need to talk to Jake Green," he said as confidently as he could manage given the sniper they undoubtedly had hiding on the roof.

It wasn't going to change anyone's mind, but as their leader he should know what he was condemning his town to.

"What do you want?" Impatient and angry this time.

He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "I want you to think about this. You kill him and the next one that dies is one of your own. We won't be here to rescue you then."

There was a pause. The silence lasted forever.

"This is our town. You're not welcome."

They had kept the town from being turned into rubble. They'd stopped the skirmish before it had escalated into major bloodshed. His unit had been welcome then.

Then Intel had undone all that within days. When they'd moved on and finally released everyone they hadn't found anything to charge them with to terrorize a different town, he wished the towns had been left to sort out their own fates. Anything but leaving him and his unit to keep "peace".

When the head of New Bern had been reported missing, he'd gone looking for the commanders of the local militia and wasn't surprised to find nobody knew where they were.

The radio went dead and he carefully stepped over the glass. It must have been an attractive little town once, quaint in a small town sort of way. Now it was just a wreak that would take more to fix than they had.

This way they'd never forget. He pitied the next unit sent to enforce the peace. He wondered if they'd even make it into town.

Lifting the radio he pressed the button again. "What about your father's memorial? I don't think you want to miss that."

The father had been buried when all but his wife was in custody. The memorial was the real goodbye.

There was a glint of light from an upstairs window.

The next voice was close, but not so strident and a little softer. The brother. "We won't."

Suddenly a shot rang out from the window. It bounced off the ground a foot away and he backed up quickly, almost falling on the glass.

Behind him the overhang of the building shaded the street. He retreated into its relative safety. He'd learned to be wary of towns like this long past down the road. Something moved behind the light. He ordered his men, waiting in the shadowed space, to stand down. They could have their revenge if they wanted.

ooo0000ooo

Jake took the radio from Hawkins. "What do you want?" he snapped.

The intruder warned there would be no rescue next time. But they wouldn't need it. He looked towards the wall that hid them from the street, imagining them watching back.

"This is our town. You're not welcome."

He put down the radio and turned his attention to the man kneeling on the floor, arms tied behind his back.

Constantino sounded smug. "You know he's right. Kill me but it won't change anything." He made it a point to look Jake in the eyes. "They'll leave soon. You know what happens then."

Jake watched with no expression. "I told you I was coming after you."

They stared at each other, the silence chilling. It was broken by the crackle of the radio. Jake ignored it. Eric picked it up.

"What about your father's memorial? I don't think you want to miss that."

Jake looked at Eric, the two exchanging a silent, bitter look. Then he turned back and glared at Constantino. It was the worse possible thing that could have been said.

"We won't," said Eric softly.

Constantino met Jake's stare, taunting back. "Your father would have listened to reason."

Jake stepped directly in front of him, lifting his foot, ready to kick hard. As Jake snapped it forward Constantino looked away in anticipation.

Nothing happened. Jake stepped back, satisfied.

Behind them, a select group of witnesses waited. Pushing forward, Stanley waved his rifle at then retreated. It was time.

Jake moved back as Dale slowly stepped forward. The dark sack he held was shoved over Constantino's head. It was triple lined so it would keep the mess to a minimum.

Dale backed off. Eric stepped forward, standing awkwardly in front of the prisoner. "For the mortars," he said softly, barely a whisper, his discomfort obvious. Baileys' had been heavily damaged. Nobody knew if it was salvageable yet.

He joined Jake and Dale.

Stanley took his place in front of the prisoner, the crowd creeping forward. "For the food." Moving back, waiting with Eric it was plain that neither of them liked it, but would not stop the execution.

Dale came forward, each step in guarded anger. He shoved Constantino to the floor. "For Skyler." There was silence. He'd lost all but one of his men, but the worse casualty was her.

Pulling out a pistol, he put it to the former despot of New Bern's head.

"Stop," warned Jake. "Back off."

Dale put the pistol away and quickly retreated behind the brothers. The witnesses pressed closer, forming a semi-circle behind them.

Hawkins handed Jake the pistol with the silencer. Jake held it for a moment and slowly walked forward.

Constantino was very still as the pistol rested against his head.

The soldiers outside could not hear the shot with the silencer.

Jake fired. Constantino fell limply to the ground, a dark stain spreading across the thick cloth.

Jake watched as he fell, running his hands down the jacket still stained with his father's blood.

It was over. Nobody could tell if it was as satisfying as they'd imagined it would be.

There were things to do. Jake handed the gun back to Hawkins and waved in the general direction of the back. "Get them out of here."

Stanley herded a group of witnesses to the rear door, cautiously opening it, then checking. They filed outside. He watched as they walked away, closed the door and came back inside.

Jake turned to Hawkins. "Are we ready?"

Hawkins slipped the gun into his jacket. "Everything is set."

Most of the remaining civilians were waved to the side door. Two remained. Jake took the radio from Eric and pressed the button. "We have civilians coming out," he said. "Let them go."

ooo0000ooo

The major jumped when the radio came to life.

"We have civilians coming out. Let them go."

It sounded like an order. He wasn't going to shoot civilians anyway. "Agreed," he said.

"Stay where you are. You give us an hour." Another order. But Constantino was already dead if they were leaving.

He must have leaned forward. Another shot came from the roof this time. It scattered a cluster of sand and broken pavement a little too close.

"Agreed," he repeated nervously.

In a little while they'd be gone. If the general thought they'd established control over the little bit of hell he should have been standing in the street. When New Bern retaliated, someone would have to be sent to clean up the mess. He didn't care as long as it wasn't them. Next time they'd have to fight their way into town. This little war just wasn't worth dying over.

ooo0000ooo

Stanley closed the side door as the last of the second group of witnesses scurried out and cautiously walked towards the street. While the soldiers were busy watching them, the last two remaining quickly cut the ropes on the body and rolled it into a thickness of blankets.

It was hefted over a shoulder and secured on one of the horses waiting outside the back door.

Jake stepped outside, watching as they rode off. They'd leave the body with the truck and ride past the military patrol separating New Bern from Jericho. Everyone would agree they were simply turned back and carried nothing.

But the locals knew the back ways into New Bern. The soldiers, spread very thin, would never see them. Nobody could be blamed the next day when it was found.

ooo0000ooo

On one side of the table sat the town's leaders, disarmed but unfazed. On the other was a nervous major and two of his staff, equally intimidated.

"Where's the body?" he asked.

"We left it inside," Jake Green said, daring them to question his word.

The major was perfectly willing to leave it at that, but he knew his superiors weren't.

"It wasn't there when the snipers left."

The brother leaned forward. He looked out of place among the young warlords. "We didn't see anyone when we left."

They had ridden away but were turned back by a patrol. But he wished they'd just gotten away. He didn't want to intimidate these men. They'd fought and died for their land. They weren't going to take the word of a recently promoted major that he was in charge. Orders or not he watched their eyes and made his decision.

"Before your were intercepted, did you see anyone else?"

"No one, " said the black man, glowering at him. He made the major more nervous than the rest, though they were fast catching up.

He'd lose the game. The body would be found where and when they wanted. The rest was their problem.

He stood, looking over them. He hoped they could tell he was speaking simply as one man to others. "Just to let you know, this will backfire. Next time it's their turn. You'll be the ones with the funerals."

Somebody would be back to make peace again. But not him. He'd be too far down the road. The elusive road gangs that vanished before you could catch them didn't sound too bad about then. Once they were done and left, the defenses would go up again and whatever claim the western forces had to this place would evaporate in the dust.

"Can we go?" asked the black man, eyes resting on the major.

"Certainly," he said, and didn't care if they saw the relief.

ooo0000ooo

In the darkness that enveloped New Bern since the little war, two men with a body between them slipped past a guard, shielded by a wall. The guard appeared to be watching the road ahead of him as if it was about the time he would be relieved.

Their burden was still limp and heavy, but they moved quickly. In a dark shadow that would be hit by the first rays of dawn, it was dropped for the sunrise to reveal.

They slipped back through the darkness towards others already waiting.

ooo0000ooo

The soldiers had confiscated all the food New Bern had stripped from Jericho's farms and packed it in a warehouse. Whatever food New Bern had was mixed in with the rest. It was hoped that peace might be maintained if it was rationed between them along with some of the manufactured products of New Bern's factories. But the Kansas roads had been very hard on the units numbers and there weren't enough men to leave a semblance of authority behind. Before they rode out of town the food would be split and the locals would work things out however they chose.

The guards were wary, odd sounds off in the distance.

"Put down your weapons," said a voice in the darkness. It was followed by an insistent, "Now!"

They complied, the weapons taken immediately. Someone who knew their business tied their hands and feet and shoved them behind a fence.

ooo0000ooo

Jonah was impatient at the time, but the no kill policy was designed to make sure the soldiers left in peace.

The military had conviently left all the food packed inside trucks and the keys had already been stolen. His men poured out of the back of the truck and each took a set of keys.

Soon, a convoy headed out of New Bern to the hiding place until the soldiers had gone. New Bern was left with nothing.

Jonah was still a thief, but Jericho offered the best deal and Emily was a part of the town. Now that New Bern would always be a threat, he had decided to pick a side.

The trucks rumbled through the dark night and were swallowed by the dusty mist.

ooo0000ooo

The major watched as his crew loaded the last of their equipment. The orders had been to leave nothing. The confiscated food had vanished into the night and nobody seemed to know where it had gone. Sorting out the new mess would make the town even more impatient, and his men were nervous enough already.

He'd ordered them down the road.

The brothers and their little cadre of lieutenants were watching. And impatient. Once his men were gone the food could be distributed, and all of them were very hungry.

Especially the people of New Bern. He wondered if there were any of *their* spies waiting for the soldiers to go, too.

Best to leave both to their misery. Up the road past the gangs that waited in ambush, there were more little tribal towns that would let them come and go and then things would go back to normal.

He was used to it. He did what he had to for he and his men to survive. At the end of the road was another little town where his family waited, and when he thought of them he understood.

Everything was loaded. He walked towards the new warlords and stopped, keeping a respectful distance. "Be careful what you do. It comes around," he said. Not as a major or a soldier but a man who was terrified his own would come to this.

Nobody said a word. They watched as he joined his men and ordered his unit to roll.

The soldiers rumbled out of Jericho and the walls closed behind them.


End file.
